


Dog Person

by pearwaldorf



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Background Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Gen, why are we talking we only have one thing in common
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 17:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14675784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearwaldorf/pseuds/pearwaldorf
Summary: “Why did you send a boy to my office?” She asks.





	Dog Person

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amy/gifts).



> _I want Pepper to be like. Confused by Peter? Like he’s the human equivalent of the giant rabbit in IM3. Great that he provides something for Tony, but this is not for her._

There’s a small human in the waiting area of Pepper’s office. He’s quietly playing with his phone. He’s not small-small, but definitely under 18. She looks at Kevin, her assistant, and raises an inquiring eyebrow.

“Mr. Stark dropped him off here.” He makes a _what can you do?_ gesture, and she sighs.

“Did you tell him he still has a whole floor to himself?” She feels like she should be getting that feeling, the one that manifests whenever she’s dealing with Tony or Tony-adjacent things. It’s a spectrum, really, ranging from mild annoyance to frantic, mind-curdling terror. But nothing’s happening in that regard, just bafflement and mild curiosity.

“Yes I did. _And_ I told him the locks are biometric, so he doesn’t even have to keep track of keys.” Kevin is worth his weight in platinum, or rhodium, or any of those other metals that have more use in conduction than gold. 

“Thank you, Kevin. I’ll deal with this myself.” He nods and goes back to whatever he was doing. 

She approaches the small human. He looks up at her, but doesn’t move from the chair. 

“Hello,” she says. 

“Oh hi! Hello!” He jumps up, quicker than she expected, and extends his hand. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I’m Peter Parker. It’s really nice to meet you, Ms. Potts.” 

“Likewise.” She shakes his hand, and is pleased to note it’s a proper one, no limp grips or excessive pressure. Whoever raised him got that right, at least.

She gestures for him to sit back down, and he does. She takes the chair next to him. He sits up straighter, like he’s going to be interrogated.

“So what do you do, Peter?” A nice, neutral topic, that anybody should be able to answer.

“I’m a student, but you probably already figured that out. I’m also interning for Mr. Stark, sort of.” He fidgets, like it’s not not the truth, but definitely not the entire thing.

“Interesting. I thought I met all the SI interns this year.” Pepper would have remembered this one, all skinny and earnest, and not just because there weren’t a lot of white boys in the last crop. 

“I don’t think it’s technically through the company?” Peter’s starting to look nervous. “It’s kind of a… special arrangement.” 

Something pings in her head, and she recalls Tony talking about a new thing he’s been working on. He seemed very excited about it, but said it wasn’t for him. 

“Oh! I know who you are.” Unfortunately the name’s not forthcoming. “Bug Boy?” She guesses.

“Spider-Man, actually.” He looks resigned, like he’s way too used to correcting people about it at this point.

“But you’re not technically a man yet.” 

Peter shrugs. “I’ll grow into it?” 

They make additional stilted conversation for a few more minutes. She learns he’s from Queens, and his Aunt May is his primary caretaker. His best friends are named Ned and Michelle, who goes by MJ. He seems perfectly nice, but she’s still not quite sure why he’s _here_. It’s kind of a relief when her phone sounds. It’s Tony. She excuses herself and goes into her office.

“Hey, Pep.” Tony sounds genuinely glad to hear from her. That still hasn’t gotten old.

“Why did you send a boy to my office?” She asks.

“Oh, Parker? I thought you’d like to meet him.” There’s a hint of something in his voice that she has only associated with the bots. A fondness, but also... pride? Now she understands.

“Tony, he’s not a puppy. Or a giant rabbit. If you want to keep him around that’s fine, but he’s your project, not mine.” She’s not trying to be mean about it, but she has lots of other mentor-y things going on. The benefit banquet, now in its third year. The girls in STEM initiatives. The actual mentoring, which she finds deeply satisfying in ways she didn’t anticipate. 

“But he’s great. Brilliant kid. Brave, totally into the superhero thing.” Tony sounds genuinely confused, which is both adorable and obtuse. 

“Tony. It’s like…” she casts out for a metaphor. “Okay. You know how there are dog people and cat people?” 

“But you don’t like either. Because of the shedding. I totally offered to get you a snake or a Komodo dragon, remember?” 

“Both of which I refused, because I’d have to feed them live mice. Anyways. Peter is like presenting a cat to a dog person. I’m sure he’s great, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with him, and he’d probably be better off with somebody who understands cats. Does that clear things up?” 

“Yeah, I get it. I’ll send Happy up to get him. Sorry.” He sounds a little disappointed, and she feels just a tiny bit bad. 

“Don’t apologize. You wanted me to meet someone you’re proud of. That’s sweet.” It really is.

“You mean that?” He sounds genuinely surprised and pleased, and all right, it is cute.

“Would I say it if I didn’t?” 

She ends the call and goes back out. Peter is curled up in the chair, engrossed in his phone. 

He looks up when he hears the door close. “I’ll be out of your hair soon. Mr. Hogan--”

“I know. Tony told me.” After a minute or so, Happy appears in the doorway, and she gives him a wave. 

Peter gets up. “Like I said, it was real nice to meet you.” He gets up to follow Happy out the door.

“Peter, wait.” She calls after him, and he pauses.

She presses a business card into his hand. “You and Tony have your thing, but if your aunt or your friends ever need help or just want to talk, I’m at their disposal. Have them contact my assistant.” 

He puts the card in his pocket. “That’s awful kind of you, Ms. Potts. I’ll let them know.”

“See that you do.” Peter nods and follows Happy down the hall. 

Kevin looks up from his computer. “Collecting more people to mentor, boss?” 

“Not necessarily. But maybe.” 

He nods. “I’ll keep an eye out.” 

She goes back into her office. After all, the banquets and initiatives don’t plan themselves.


End file.
